Chicago-Kent College of Law
China University of Politics and Law, 科研楼, Room A209Mar. 1—13, 2019, 6:00—9:00pm
Prof. Gary Chodorow
+86.134.8871.9000
Course Goals
A common claim in the U.S. is that law school teaches a student to “think like a lawyer.” The act of legal writing forces a lawyer to test thought in order to express it fully and precisely. This goals of this legal writing course are to help students learn how to do legal research, construct legal arguments, and put them into writing.
In particular, the class will teach students to explain their analysis of legal problems in an objective and well-organized memorandum which defines the legal issues raised by a client’s problems, explains which legal rules will govern the problem, and finally, discusses how those rules will apply to the facts of the client’s case. Legal research methods will also be introduced.
As part of the Overseas Teaching Program at Chicago-Kent, the course stresses the particular types of legal analysis and particular role of legal writing in America’s common law and adversarial system.
This is a skills course which emphasizes learning by doing. Get ready to read and write!
Textbook
Richard K. Neumann, Jr. and Kristen Konrad Tiscione, Legal Reasoning and Legal Writing: Structure, Strategy, and Style (Aspen Publishers, 7th ed. 2013). This book is available in paperback from multiple sources, including Amazon.com and Amazon.cn.
Supplementary Materials
You will also be provided a book of supplementary materials, including the ethics guidelines, readings, and assignments mentioned below.
Ethics Guidelines
All homework is subject to the Ethics Guidelines for Chicago-Kent Legal Writing Courses. Familiarize yourself with these guidelines. Plagiarism, including collaborating on law school assignments in ways not authorized by the professor, is an offense taken seriously by U.S. law schools.
Syllabus
| Class # | Topics | Reading Due | Homework Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Why study legal writing? | Textbook chapter 1: Introduction to American Law and Legal Writing | |
| “ | Types of legal reasoning | ||
| “ | Rule-based reasoning | Textbook chapter 2: Rule-Based Reasoning | Homework Due: Exercise at the end of chapter 2 (Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure) |
| Class 2 | Avoiding plagiarism | Ethics Guidelines for Legal Writing | |
| “ | Anatomy of a judicial decision | Textbook chapter 3: An Introduction to Judicial Decisions and Statutes | Homework Due: Exercises I and II in chapter 3. |
| “ | Briefing cases | ||
| Class 3 | Sources of U.S. law and their hierarchy | Reading Due: Excerpts from chapter II (Legal Methodology) in William Burnham, Introduction to the Law and Legal System of the United States (4th ed. 2006) on the sources and hierarchy of law, methods of legal research | |
| “ | Online Legal Research (introduction) | ||
| “ | Briefing Cases (cont’d) | Homework Due: Write a case brief of Baxter v. Fugett (Okla. 1967). | |
| Class 4 | Online legal research (cont’d) | Getting Started Guide | Online Research Quiz |
| “ | Briefing cases (cont’d) | ||
| “ | Intro to the Dog-Bite Memo | For the Dog-Bite Memo: 1. Make a diagram of the umbrella rule (for a motion to dismiss a dog-bite claim). 2. Begin briefing the precedent cases provided. | |
| Class 5 | Office memoranda | Textbook chapter 6: Office Memoranda Textbook appendix A: Sample Office Memorandum Textbook chapter 7: Predictive Writing | Exercise in chapter 7 |
| “ | Dog-Bite Memo | For the Dog-Bite Memo: Finish briefing the precedent cases provided | |
| Class 6 | How to organize proof of a conclusion of law | Textbook chapter 12: Paradigm for Organizing Proof of a Conclusion of Law | |
| Dog-Bite Memo | For the Dog-Bite Memo: 1. For each element of your umbrella rule, use a table to synthesize the cases in order to clarify the rule defining that element. 2. For each element of your umbrella rule, add the facts. 3. Begin organizing your discussion into CRuPAC format. | ||
| Class 7 | Overview of the court system: 1. Stare decisis and ranking authorities 2. Filling gaps in local law with persuasive authority | Textbook chapter 8: Selecting Authority | |
| Dog-Bite Memo | Dog-Bite Memo: Continue drafting | ||
| Class 8 | Working with Facts | Textbook chapter 11: Working with Facts | |
| Dog-Bite Memo | Dog-Bite Memo: Email first draft to me | ||
| Class 9 | Interpreting statutes in a common law system | Textbook chapter 9: Working with Statutes | Exercise 1 in chapter 9 |
| Dog-Bite Memo: 1-to-1 meetings to discuss first draft | |||
| Class 9 | Working with precedent | Textbook chapter 10: Working with Precedent | |
| Dog-Bite Memo: 1-to-1 meetings to discuss first draft (cont’d) | |||
| Final assignment | Dog-Bite Memo: Email first draft to me |
How to Succeed in This Class / Grading
Tips for success in this class:
- Do the reading and homework.
- As you encounter legal terms you don’t know, look them up in a legal dictionary. Black’s Law Dictionary is included in your WestlawNext subscription.
- As you do the reading and homework, note questions & comments, then raise them in class.
- Participate and volunteer in class.
- Embrace ambiguity: There are ambiguities and gaps in rules, facts, and how the rules should be applied to the facts. Learn to analyze and argue from two (or more) sides. Indeed, many assignments for legal writing courses are written with ambiguities, so there is no “right” answer.
- Follow the ethics rules.
- Proofread.
Here is how your grade will be determined:
- 40% homework
- 20% class participation
- 40% final assignment
Guidelines for Homework
How to Turn in Your Homework:
- Bring your homework to class on the day it is due. We will discuss the homework in class so you can correct your own homework.
- For assignments I ask you to email to me, send them to me at gchodorow@gmail.com before class on the day the homework is due. In the subject line for your email, write the Class number when the assignment is due and your name in Pinyin: for example, “Class 8: WANG Tao.”
Formatting of Written Assignments: Lawyers are conservative about the format of legal documents and often subject to stringent formatting rules. In this class, you must follow these formatting rules:
- Use A4- or letter-sized pages
- Use Times New Roman 12-point or a comparable font for the body.
- Each page should have a one-inch (2.5 cm) margin on all sides.
- Write your name in Pinyin at the top of the first page.
- Place a page number in the bottom center of each page except the first.
What to Bring to Class
- Your textbook and supplementary materials
- All homework you’ve completed in the course to date. (We will refer back to it).
- Feel free to bring English and legal English dictionaries.
You may bring these materials in either printed or electronic format.